Commerce commissioner: MNsure in ‘emergency situation’

In a development that one key Republican lawmaker is calling “a watershed event,” Minnesota’s top health insurance regulator says the state’s individual market is in “an emergency situation” amid big rate increases for next year.

Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman said Friday that all of the companies that have been offering individual plans, whether through the state’s MNsure health exchange or directly to consumers, were prepared to leave the market in 2017.

The big rate increases announced Friday were a tradeoff that Rothman said was needed to persuade insurers to remain with MNsure for now, he said. Nonetheless, the preferred provider network of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota still opted to leave. Its much smaller HMO affiliate, Blue Plus, will remain.

Altogether, four health major insurance companies and a few smaller affiliates will offer individuals new policies in 2017. The major players include Blue Plus, HealthPartners, Medica and UCare. PreferredOne, which left the exchange two years ago, still has 1,700 individual subscribers who have opted to keep their plans—as is their statutory right—but it is offering no new enrollments.

Rate hikes are only a temporary fix, Rothman said before calling on lawmakers to make changes to prevent the market’s collapse.

Rate increases finalized this week range from a 50 percent average hike for HealthPartners plans to a 67 percent average on UCare.

Rothman’s words will embolden Republicans who have called President Barack Obama’s health care law a disaster in Minnesota.

Though expressing chagrin, House Republicans on Friday said the rate increases were not unexpected. Preliminary numbers in line with those released Friday were issued weeks ago.

The big surprise Friday, they said, is a new set of 2017 enrollment caps approved by Commerce for the first time. Commerce is allowing limits on the number of new enrollees who can buy into the plans offered by three of the four remaining insurers on the individual market.

Rep. Tony Albright, R-Prior Lake, said Friday’s news may prove a turning point in public perception about MNsure.

“This is a watershed event for the people of Minnesota,” he said. “This will help them to fully appreciate just how tragic the consequences are becoming based upon the 2013-14 Legislature deciding what is best for Minnesotans and their health care.”

The Commerce Department said that the exchange’s remaining insurers, except Blue Plus, will limit their total 2017 enrollments. The move will be allowed so insurers can manage their provider network capacity, and “absorb the many current Blue Cross consumers who will be shopping for new plans,” the department said in a press release.

Commerce Department spokesman Ross Corson told Capitol Report that this is the first time enrollment caps have been instituted on the Minnesota health care exchange. “But it is permitted under federal regulations,” he said.

Commerce Department figures show that HealthPartners will cap its overall statewide enrollments at 72,000 for 2017. Medica will limit itself to 50,000 individual enrollees, while UCare will accept 30,000 individual enrollees statewide. Blue Plus will not institute an individual enrollment cap.

Currently, about 5 percent of Minnesotans—approximately 250,000 people—get their coverage from individual policies, according to the Commerce Department. Still, Corson said, the market has been shrinking. In 2015, the number was closer to 300,000 individual enrollees, he said.

Nonetheless, House Republicans blasted the caps, saying they will not reduce costs yet could leave many Minnesotans without options.

Friday’s news is the culmination of “a horror story,” Albright said. “You couldn’t wreck Minnesota’s health care system any better than what they have done thus far with MNsure,” he said.

Albright expressed exasperation with Rothman for asking lawmakers to fix the program. “Now they are coming back to the Legislature and asking us to make changes? What changes can be made?” he said. The next move, Albright said, is up to Gov. Mark Dayton.

On Friday afternoon, Jonathan Gold, press secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, issued a statement on Minnesota health exchange situation.

“Consumers in Minnesota will continue to have affordable health Insurance options next year,” Gold said. “Headline rate changes do not reflect what these consumers actually pay because tax credits reduce the cost of coverage below the sticker price and shopping helps consumers find the best deal.”

Friday’s rate increases sit on top of increases of up to 17 percent and 49 percent in the past two years.

Open enrollment for MNsure begins Nov. 1. Officials urge Minnesotans to take action early to make sure their health insurance coverage is set starting Jan. 1, 2017.

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2 comments

Just what is “affordable” about an annual premium of $10, 300 with a deductible of $6850 for a single, 61 year old male? That’s the cheapest policy available and it has a limited network of doctors and hospitals!!!

We need MCHA back! We also need control to be given back to the states so that the market can find solutions for our residents. Higher deductibles and better HSA configurations would help with that. We are in the death spiral as predicted. More healthy individuals will opt out of the ACA and pay the 2.95% tax penalty.